Business
Osinbajo, Others List Values For Business Success
The Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has in Lagos told youths in Africa to imbibe the culture of integrity and discipline for the nation’s growth.
Osinbajo gave the advice while delivering a lecture entitled “Transforming Africa through Entrepreneurship’’.
He was speaking at the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP) 2015 Boot Camp, organised by the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) in Lagos on Saturday.
“The TEF deserves all the commendation and support for putting this programme together, which is, putting his money where his heart is.
“This is an avenue for African youths to come together to unite, learn and also network.
“Enterprise, commerce and society cannot survive without character, so the key word here is character and integrity, which also include respect for rule of law, prompt tax remissions, etc.
“It is a known fact that credit is the live wire of commerce and it behooves every entrepreneur to showcase integrity which reflects in the repayment of loans and keeping the promises of quality.
“TEF has shown that social entrepreneurship is a key aspect of growth and the economy cannot grow without it and government is willing to support the growth of the cause,” he said.
The vice-president urged the participants to imitate the examples laid by the foundation to support cause of national growth and development.
Also speaking, the Prime Minister of Benin Republic, Mr Lionel Zinsou, lauded TEF for initiating the boot camp to build a generation of young successful entrepreneurs across Africa.
Zinsou said, however, that electricity was a major infrastructure that was militating against the success of businesses in Africa.
He, therefore, urged entrepreneurs to look into businesses of providing renewable energy as an alternative means of providing electricity.
Zinzou also urged youths to embrace technology to grow their businesses, expressing his optimism in the growth of African nations through corporate and entrepreneurial growth.
The Governor of Kaduna State, Mr Nasir El-Rufai, in his address, implored government to truly show support for business by creating the enabling environment.
El-Rufai decried the state of insecurity in the country, saying that businesses cannot grow without adequate protection of lives and property, efficient law enforcement and basic infrastructure.
“Businesses need a functioning government because no matter how rich you are, you cannot build your own refinery, road network and so on.
“In Kaduna State, about 80 per cent of the youths are unemployed and it is the same all over the country.
“The government needs to work more on security, policy coherence and flexibility in key growth areas like entrepreneurship and job creation.
“In the light of this, permit me to say that President Buhari is planning to invest more on human capital development, especially in the area of education.
“As our own contribution, I will get a list of indigenes of Kaduna State, who may be willing to invest in the state, in order to offer our own support,” he said.
The Managing Director of Bank of Industry (BoI), Mr Rasheed Olaoluwa, at panel discussion, assured beneficiaries of the seed capital adequate support and more loans from BoI.
He said that the bank had formed cluster loans for some sectors like fashion, agriculture and Nollywood, which the entrepreneurs could benefit from.
The Chairman of TEF, Mr Tony Elumelu, said the boot camp was an initiative to support youths across Africa with seed capital, networking and most importantly, the ethics of business.
“The major aspect that makes me tick is that we want to show African youths and the world that we can succeed, despite the harsh environment around here.
“Our main highlight was hammering on the main ingredients of succeeding in business which include hard work, discipline, resilience and knowing the rule of your business.
“Failure is part of business, that is why emotional and workplace intelligence are part of our training modules for the boot camp.
“After this exercise, there is also a formidable monitoring of the fund capital that would be given out and other forms of support would also be given.
The foundation, he said, lauded the present administration and its development partners for lending their voices of support for the cause of job creation through entrepreneurship.
“It is our duty to call them to order and demand the delivery of these promises by playing our part as reliable business owners looking to build empires that would outlive us,” Elumelu said.
The boot camp and training was organised for 1,000 youths out of the 20,000 applicants who applied from 51 countries in Africa.
According to the foundation, TEEP is a 10-year programme, where 1,000 entrepreneurs would be selected annually, trained and given seed capital of $5000 (about N1.2 million).
The foundation said that the top five sectors where applications for capital and support were received were in order of percentage, agriculture, education, commercial retail, ICT and healthcare.
The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, John Enoh said this at the 8th annual induction and conference of the Chartered Institute of Project Managers of Nigeria (CIPMN).
He explained that abandoned projects continue to lock up public funds that could have been used for infrastructure development, industrial growth, job creation and essential social services.
Represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Chris Osa Isokpunwu, he said the impact goes beyond financial losses, as incomplete projects affect communities and limit access to important public services
He cited examples of that remain unopened, schools that cannot accommodate students, roads that fail to connect communities and electricity projects that have not delivered their intended benefits.
The Registrar-General and Chief Executive Officer of CIPMN, Henry Ifeanyi Mbadiwe, also identified poor project management as a major challenge affecting development in Nigeria.
He revealed that the institute had developed a project management curriculum for Nigerian universities, which has received approval from the National Universities Commission (NUC). The programme is expected to enable universities to offer project management as a bachelor’s degree.
Mbadiwe further referenced findings by the Presidential Projects Assessment Committee, which identified 11,886 ongoing federal capital projects in 2011, with an estimated financial commitment of ?7.78 trillion.
He noted that inadequate planning, supervision, accountability and implementation were among the factors contributing to the abandonment of projects across the country.
The minister called for stronger project management structures across ministries, departments and agencies to improve planning, monitoring and evaluation.
He added that the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment had introduced a 90-day implementation reporting cycle to strengthen transparency and monitor the progress of government programmes.
Ikenga said the company remained committed to Nigeria’s power sector and would continue investing in its operations despite the challenging business environment.
He spoke in Lagos at the third edition of the Shell Power Conference, themed “Powering Nigeria’s Progress: Turning Ambition and Action into Sustainable Impact”.
The Transcorp Power chief said the company would sustain electricity generation, invest in its facilities and deliver value to shareholders.
“Transcorp Power is a long-term player, not a short-term player. This year has been challenging, but what is important is getting power to schools, hospitals and businesses to power progress,” he said.
Ikenga said the company’s focus on operational efficiency and investment had strengthened its contribution to Nigeria’s electricity supply.
He disclosed that since acquiring the Ughelli Power Plant in Delta State in 2013, Transcorp Power had quadrupled its available generation capacity.
He also said the company became the first privatised power generation firm to receive a post-privatisation discharge certificate after fulfilling all its privatisation obligations.
The company’s unaudited results for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, showed a profit before tax of N83.1 billion, while its profit-before-tax margin rose to 31.2 per cent from 29.6 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
Its total assets rose to 11.7 per cent amounting to N629.5 billion, while shareholders’ funds grew 8.9 per cent to N199.8 billion. Cash and cash equivalents also rose to N10.3 billion, supported by improved collections.
On the company’s contribution to grid stability, Ikenga said Transcorp Power’s black-start capability enabled it to restart operations without relying on electricity from the national grid.
He explained that the capability allowed the company to support power restoration following grid disturbances, helping to restore electricity supply to homes, businesses and industries.
Ikenga noted that Nigeria had an installed electricity generation capacity of about 13,000 megawatts, with an estimated potential of 50 gigawatts, adding that realising the potential would require effective coordination across the entire value chain.
“Everything in the value chain has to work,” he said.
He called for stronger collaboration among federal and state governments, regulators and private-sector operators, alongside increased private investment, to build a sustainable electricity market.
This was contained in a statement issued on Thursday by his Senior Special Assistant on Communications and Press Secretary, Maryann Duke.
The statement said Oyedele pointed to “improved digital systems, including electronic invoicing, as a key driver behind a record of N33tn in government revenue collected between January and October 2026.”
The minister said the performance demonstrated the potential of technology to improve revenue administration, strengthen compliance and increase efficiency across government institutions.
Speaking on the theme, ‘Digital Sovereignty and Ethics: Guarding the Economy for the Next Generation,’ Oyedele warned that Nigeria risked losing substantial economic opportunities if it continued to depend heavily on foreign digital infrastructure.
Citing Nigerian Communications Commission figures, he disclosed that the country recorded more than 157 million active internet subscriptions as of May 2026.
He explained that these connections generated significant volumes of information through financial transactions, healthcare, education and taxation.
However, citing estimates from the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, Oyedele said as much as 90 per cent of the country’s data was hosted abroad.
According to him, the situation has implications for foreign exchange expenditure, employment opportunities, technological skills and Nigeria’s control over information generated by its citizens.
He compared the country’s reliance on foreign digital infrastructure with its historical dependence on imported refined petroleum products, warning against a situation where Nigerian data would be processed abroad and the resulting services sold back to domestic users.
The minister consequently advocated greater investment in local data infrastructure, technical expertise, cybersecurity and predictable regulations to enable Nigerian businesses to capture more value from the digital economy.
He clarified that digital sovereignty should not translate into technological isolation but should strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to participate competitively in international markets.
Addressing graduating students, Oyedele urged young Nigerians to become developers of technological solutions rather than remain primarily consumers of products created elsewhere.
He identified artificial intelligence as both a disruptive force and an opportunity for innovation, advising graduates to acquire relevant digital skills alongside critical thinking, creativity, sound judgement and integrity.
The minister also cautioned against irresponsible online behaviour, explaining that digital footprints increasingly influence employment prospects, commercial relationships and professional credibility.
Oyedele outlined five priorities for graduates, including continuous learning, value creation, integrity, responsible digital citizenship and active participation in national development.
“Your degree is evidence of what you have learned. Your competence will demonstrate what you can do. Your character will reveal who you truly are,” he told the graduating students.
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